Still Standing
by Celestial Angel1
Summary: FOURTH CHAPTER UP NOW! Thanks for the reviews, everyone, this fic is going to continue after all! Something horrible happens to Tai, and Sora, TK and Kari could be next. This part is pretty sad, so read and review!
1. Prologue

**What is up, my readers? This is a continuation of "Standing Alone" called "Still Standing". Hopefully it will be as good as my friends at school say it is. But that's up to all of you and the reviews I get. Anyway, I'm bored, so let's get on with this. There's going to be major Taiora and Takari for those of you who want to know, by the way.**  
  
Still Standing  
Prologue  
  
~TK~  
It's been five years since my brother died. Five bitter years of sadness and anger for me and my mother. I miss seeing his face, standing beside him. I long to hear his voice speak to me, to hear it sing proudly with his band. I want him back, I want my mother back. She's not the same woman I knew as an eleven year old. I'm sixteen years old now, and I can't leave my house without her quizzing me about where I'm going and who I'm going with. She's over protective of me, and I can understand why. It's my dad, the man who killed my brother and ran away from it. The guy they never caught, the one who remained free after murdering his own son.   
Matt. He'd be turning nineteen this year. He'd be in college with Tai, the way they had always planned it. They'd live in the dorms together, and Sora would visit them often. But that's never going to happen, because Matt's dead. He can't come back and do anything with his friends. He never got to drive a car or go to the prom. He never got to graduate. He never had a chance, all because of my stupid father and his abuse.  
Maybe I should explain why I'm so angry from the very beginning. Matt died all those years ago because my dad was an alcoholic and an abusive parent. My mom tried to get Matt back, and she did, but my dad undid the courts and retained custody. But Matt got sick, and had to stay in bed for three weeks. The courts said one of us had to go with my dad, and since I was well, I had to go. It was three weeks of pain I'll never forget. Every day I was beat on until I was bruised and bloody. I had bruises on top of bruises! It was pure hell, and I felt horrible that my brother had to go through it every day for eight years. He came back one afternoon, and walked in while I was getting a particularly bad beating. He was so angry, I remember the look in his eyes as he grabbed the gun off the counter. My stomach dropped to the floor as they fought over the weapon. Then it happened. The gun went off. For a split second, I thought Matt had shot my dad. But when my father backed away, and I saw the blood seep from Matt, I knew I was wrong. He died right there in my arms as my dad ran away. The doctors said there was nothing that could have saved him, the bullet hit exactly the right place within Matt's body.   
The funeral, and the weeks after it were a blur. I remember my girlfriend trying to comfort me as we stayed up all night trying to forget the horror we had both witnessed, along with Tai and Sora. Life soon went back to what seemed to be normal, and I adjusted to being an only child.   
There is a threat that my dad could come back for me. I don't know why he would, but everyone has been telling me to be careful. I honestly don't think he'd come back for me, but you never know. . .  
  
**Will Mr. Ishida come back? What's going to happen? This is only the beginning of something big. . . **  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter One

**Hey there. I don't think I'm going to get feedback on this story, so I'm going to post this chapter and see how it goes. So if you want this story to go on, tell all your friends to read it and review it.**   
  
Still Standing   
Chapter One: I Don't Know Him Anymore   
  
TK stood alone in the icy winter weather, a black trenchcoat covering his body as he shivered nonetheless. At his feet, a small stone had been placed. TK kneeled down and read the inscription on the smooth grey rock.   
Yamato Ishida   
Born September 17, 1990   
Died September 30, 2003   
TK choked back a sob and got down on his hands and knees, weeping onto the cold stone bitterly. A gentle snow began to fall onto the blonde, sticking in his hair and eyelashes. TK looked up at the clouds, his blue eyes standing out against the bleak day.   
"I'm here again, Matt. I miss you, brother. Life isn't the same without you. I got my license today, so there'll be no more walking to visit you. Kari and I still aren't talking, I don't think we ever will. I wish you were around so I could ask for advice, especially on ex-girlfriends. Mom was going to come, but she couldn't. I know she never comes, but I think it hurts too much still. I'm sorry Matt." TK said solidly. He had changed in the years since Matt was killed. His hair was longer, almost resembling Matt's when he was living. His big blue eyes weren't as happy-go-lucky as they had been. He was taller, and more muscular than when he was eleven.   
"I have to go now. I just wanted to tell you I missed you. I'll be back tomorrow." TK stated as he got up and walked away from the grave solemnly. He got into his car and started the engine, pulling slowly out through the cemetary gates.   
"Mom, I'm home." TK called as he walked into his home, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up. Ms. Takaishi walked out of her room and smiled at her son.   
"Hello, Takeru. How was your day?" Ms. Takaishi asked sweetly. TK grinned slightly and sat in a chair.   
"It was okay. I passed my math test, and scored a three pointer to win my scrimmage at practice today. And I visited-" TK said. Ms. Takaishi interrupted TK before he could tell her he visited Matt's grave.   
"That's wonderful! I'm so proud of you, Takeru!" Ms. Takaishi exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen, arriving later with a small cake with sixteen candles. TK smiled as his mother sang to him, prompting him to blow out his candles. TK took a huge breath and extinguished the candles quickly. Ms. Takaishi cut the cake and served one for her, and then one for her son.   
"These cam in the mail for you. It looks like a bunch of cards." Ms. Takaishi said, pulling six envelopes out from her desk.   
"They must be from Tai and everyone else." TK sighed as he tore open the cards and read each one individually. He noticed that Tai had signed his from both him and Kari.   
'If Tai and Kari shared a card, what's the sixth one for?' TK thought as he tore open the light blue envelope. TK began to shake as he read the card to himself.   
"Takeru, what's wrong?" Ms. Takaishi asked worriedly. TK handed the card to his mother, who gasped in shock. TK stared at the card, reading the words inside it carefully.   
'Dear TK, Happy birthday, have a good one. It WILL be your last.' TK read silently.   
Tai walked down the street, Sora clinging to his arm carefully so not to fall on the icy sidewalk. Sora glanced up at Tai, noticing him looking down on her lovingly.   
"I can't believe you can't walk on ice, Sora." Tai quipped, letting his girlfriend go as he skidded along the icy walkway effortlessly. Sora grabbed onto a pole and glared at Tai.   
"Maybe I don't want to fall! Remember last winter when I broke my ankle? I don't want to do that again!" Sora argued. Tai slid back to Sora and wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her lightly on the lips. Sora smiled in mid-kiss and backed away ever so slightly, leaving a tiny space between Tai's lips and her own.   
"We should take this elsewhere. . . ." Sora sighed into Tai's ears. Tai looked at Sora in shock, his brown eyes gleaming with energy.   
"We should??" Tai gulped, looking into Sora's reddish eyes for some sort of sign. Sora smirked and giggled as she whispered something into Tai's ear gently. Tai gasped and grinned boyishly. Sora took Tai's hand and led the star-struck boy on down the walk to her house, where they entered and locked the door behind them.   
Kari sat in her room, writing into her journal quietly. She paused, looking out her window at the starry sky above. Sighing, Kari returned to her journal, writing about her day.   
'Today was a pretty good day. I had a good mark on my math exam, and did well on my science exam. The only thing that bothered me today was TK. He asked me to visit Matt's grave again. Of course I said no, I can't go there with him. I haven't been near the cemetary for five years. TK goes every day. I think that might have lead to our breaking up, but I don't know. He's obsessed with his brother, and who can blame him? I mean, if Tai was dead, I'd be just as obsessed. But he really needs to let go and move on with life. He's so distant, so cold sometimes. It seems like TK is also dead, but not quite. He doesn't do anything, just stays home with his mother. He quit basketball, he seemed to lose interest in anything at all. And then I broke up with him, making things worse for him. He needed someone to be there for him, and I couldn't do it. I can't go on seeing in my mind what I saw that day, and I never want to again. I mean, the only reason I even have this journal is because my shrink says it will help. I'm just so confused about all this, even after five years. I wish I could break through TK's mentality and help him live again. But I don't think I can.' Kari wrote. Instantly, images of the day Matt died flooded her head.   
**FLASHBACK**   
"Matt! NO!" Tai, TK, Sora and Kari screamed as the gun went off. Mr. Ishida backed away, running out the door. Matt looked down at his stomach, at the red blood that was spreading over the green material. He looked up at his friends, his eyes glazed over with shock. Convulsing, Matt fell to the ground.   
**END FLASHBACK**   
Kari sobbed angrilly as she shook her head violently, trying desperately to get the memories to leave her mind. She closed her journal and threw it under her bed, then flopped onto the mattress and cried herself to sleep.   
TK shivered in his bed and pulled the blankets closer to him. Since he had recieved the mysterious card in the mail, TK and his mother had been on edge. Now, as he tried to sleep, his mother sat in the living room, a small gun in her hand. He thought about how nervous his mother had been after Matt died, how she was convinced that her husband was coming after them too. TK shook as he thought about how the card was probably from his father.   
'Why would he want to kill me though?' TK thought as he turned over, looking toward the window of his room. He cried out in shock as he saw a shadow of a man outside the glass.   
"Mom!" TK yelled. Ms. Takaishi burst into the room, her gun ready to fire. TK leapt out of bed and ran to his mother.   
"What is it?" Ms. Takaishi asked nervously, not putting the gun down for a second. TK shook with fear, then gazed back at the window. No one was there.   
"I thought I saw someone outside my window." TK whispered. Ms. Takaishi frowned, narrowing her eyes angrilly.   
"It must have been Richard. I won't let him get you like he got Mattie. Not a chance. Come on, I have a call to make." Ms. Takaishi stated as she pulled TK into the living room and picked up the cordless phone, dialing a number.   
"Hello Mrs. Takenouchi, this is Nancy Takaishi. I was wondering if TK could spend a couple days with you and Sora. . . .oh they are? Okay, it's fine. . . .no, I couldn't do that to you. . . .alright, if you're sure it's not a bother. . . .thank you. I'll have him there in a few minutes." Ms. Takaishi said, hanging up the phone after she finished speaking.   
"You're going to spend some time at Sora's house, but Tai and Kari are there while their mom and dad are gone." Ms. Takaishi said, going into TK's room and packing him a bag. TK helped his mother, then walked with her to his car.   
"I'll drive there, then you take the car, okay mom?" TK said, jumping into the driver's seat. Ms. Takaishi got into the car and drove down the road toward the Takenouchi's house.   
  
**So, it seems that Mr. Ishida has returned. Why does he want TK? Why has he waited so long to make a move? Will Kari and TK work things out, after almost four years of separation? Find out in later chapters. . . .wait, no, review to get future chapters. That's the only way I'm going to continue this one.**


	3. Chapter Two

**So I have decided to continue this fic, after a long period of time. I had originally decided to discontinue it, mainly due to the fact that no one reviewed, and I figured no one read it. But I have had a change of heart after reading some reviews that recently came in, and voila! Another chapter!**  
  
  
Still Standing  
Chapter Two: Letters  
  
  
~Kari~  
TK's coming over? Could something be wrong? I can't help but get an eerie feeling about this whole situation. I mean, who calls in the dead of night to ask if they can drop their son off at someone else's house? Something must be wrong.   
  
  
It's been so long since I have even talked to TK. I don't even know what to say anymore. Last time I knew, he was still in therapy and grief counseling. It's so hard for me to talk to him, because eventually Matt will become the subject, as it always did in those last couple months of our relationship. He's always on TK's mind, and he's on mine too. Matt's haunted all our thoughts for all this time. Even Sora and Tai are bothered by nightmares every now and then, and they're almost twenty years old! Someone's at the door. It must be them. No one else would be here at 12:34 in the morning.   
  
  
~Omniscant~  
  
TK and his mother walked in after Mrs Takenouchi opened the door. TK was shocked to see Tai, Sora and Kari all sitting on the couch in their pajamas, looks of confusion written on their faces.   
  
  
"TK's going to stay with us for a couple days." Mrs Takenouchi announced. She walked away with Ms Takaishi, leaving the four in an awkward silence. Sora was the first to break it.   
  
  
"How have you been, TK?" Sora asked. TK nodded, glancing over his shoulder. Tai noticed the boy's frightened attitude, and focused on his appearance. He looked almost identical to his dead brother, the only thing separating them was their eye shapes.   
  
  
"He's back, isn't he?" Tai asked suddenly. Kari cringed with a vision of TK and Matt's dad as it rushed through her head.   
  
  
"Yea, I think so. I mean, I don't know. Someone was outside my window, and I thought it was dad. I got a card last night telling me to enjoy my birthday, because it would be my last. Obviously, someone's out to get me." TK stammered. Kari stood up and walked over to her ex boyfriend. For a moment the two looked at each other, then Kari took a step forward and hugged him gently.   
  
  
'You're going to be okay. No one's after you. I swear. And if there is, we'll call the police. No one's going to let you go, TK." Kari whispered. TK held Kari gently, savoring her scent. Kari let go, but felt the urge to kiss him right then and there.  
  
  
'No, Kari. You two are over. There's no need to start something up again.' She thought mentally. Kari and TK walked over to the couch and sat on opposite ends, Kari beside Sora, and TK beside Tai. The four teens listened intently to the mothers talking in the hall.  
  
  
"If anything happens, come back here, Nancy." Mrs. Takenouchi stated.   
  
  
"You know I will. Thank you for watching my son. I'm just worried about leaving him there, especially if that monster is back in town." Ms Takaishi replied. The women walked back into the living room, and Ms Takaishi embraced her son closely.   
  
  
"Be careful, mom." TK whispered. His mother nodded, then walked out of the apartment and got into her car. TK slumped back onto the couch, his eyes showing his frustration.  
  
  
"Well, I know tomorrow's Saturday, but you all need some sleep. Let's turn in, okay?" Mrs. Takenouchi declared, leading the kids to their rooms. TK crawled into bed beside Tai, and Sora shared her bed with Kari.   
  
  
"Goodnight everyone." TK murmured. A chorus of goodnights followed, and TK soon found himself drifting into a dreamless sleep.   
  
  
Tai lay awake in bed beside TK. His thoughts were centered on the blonde next to him, and how his life was in as much danger as his older brothers was, if not more.  
  
  
'Ms Takaishi would die if her only living son was taken by that man. Someone's got to do something. Before it's too late.' Tai thought to himself. He thought about the time Matt was in the hospital, and how he was thinking about killing himself if he had to go back to his dad's home.   
  
  
**Flash**  
  
"I swear, Tai. I can't take it anymore." Matt whispered. He was bandaged and bruised, but had survived the severe beating.   
  
  
"Don't you talk like that. You're my friend. I'll save you from this, no matter what I have to do." Tai cried, his tears hot on his cheek. Matt began to sob, the salty liquid leaking into one of his cuts on his cheek.   
  
**End**  
  
  
A short time after that conversation, Matt was dead. Tai had done nothing, and he carried the guilt with him everywhere he went. Now he glanced over at TK and sighed. He resembled Matt so strongly, it was like the dead boy came to life within TK's living body. Tears welled in Tai's eyes as he thought about his best friend.   
  
  
'All this could have been prevented. I shouldn't have had to bury my best friend. We were only fourteen!' Tai thought angrily.   
  
  
'Well I'm not going to let this happen to you, TK. I'm not going to let some sick man beat you until you can't go on. I'm not going to watch you die like your brother. I'm going to save you. I might have failed Matt, but not you. I can't fail twice.' Tai thought. The brown eyed boy became drowsy, and despite his best effort to stay awake, he fell asleep.  
  
  
**This is kinda short, but I'm sorry, it's late here in the good old USA! This might be Takari if you all want it, and it is most definitely Taiora if you want that too. What's going to happen next, you might ask. Well, read and review. Five will get more.** 


	4. Chapter Three

**Alright, I guess I am continuing this one! Thanks to the people who urged me to continue this fic, and if I have stopped one you think has potential, let me know! Hehe! Anyway, this is the next chapter. Something's going to happen to pull TK and Kari together. What could it be? And who's that shadowy person who's watching TK?**  
  
  
Still Standing  
Chapter Three: Darkness  
  
  
TK shivered as he walked down the busy street. It was a cold day outside, too cold to be out, really. But his home needed food, and since his mother was sick with the flu, TK had to make the trip out to the grocery.   
  
  
'Why do we have to run out of food on the coldest day of the year?' TK asked himself as he trudged along. He was unaware of a pair of eyes watching his every move. TK opened the door to the grocery and walked inside. A couple minutes later, the door opened again and an tall figure wrapped in a trench coat and black woolen scarf followed the teenager inside.   
  
  
Kari walked into the house, and found it dead silent. Slightly frightened, Kari crept through the house, looking for signs of a break in. Nothing was out of place, but the door was unlocked. Suddenly Kari heard a thump in her room. She opened the door to find Sora and Tai wrapped in each other's arms.   
  
  
"What in the world are you two doing here???" Kari shouted. Tai and Sora screamed and dove under a sheet. Tai popped his head up and glared at his sister, his face beet red. Sora pulled the sheet down, making sure to cover her bare chest.   
  
  
"You're home early." Tai muttered.   
  
  
"You don't live here! Were you two going to have sex in my bed?!" Kari screeched. Tai shook his head sharply.   
  
  
"Well, we were. . ." he muttered under his breath. Kari tossed Sora her shirt, which she put on hastily. She stepped out of Kari's bed, her jeans still on. Tai got out of bed too, his pants also zipped and unopened.   
  
  
"We're sorry, Kari, but. . .I can't even explain myself!" Sora cried, her face as red as her hair. Kari shook her head and showed the couple the door.   
  
  
"Never again. What if it wasn't me, but Mom? Or Dad? Man, are you two lucky." Kari admonished. The nineteen year old teens hung their heads and left the house, and just in time, because Mrs. Kamiya met them at the door. After telling his mother they had stopped by to visit, Tai and Sora practically ran out of the apartment complex.   
  
  
"Hi mother, how was your day?" Kari asked.   
  
  
"Oh you know, same old thing. How about you?" Mrs. Kamiya asked. Kari cringed as a mental picture of Tai and Sora on her bed flew through her mind.   
  
  
"Same as you. Uneventful." Kari answered.   
  
  
TK finished his shopping and walked toward the cashier. He suddenly had a feeling someone was watching him, but when he turned around, he saw nothing. Shrugging off the feeling, TK continued to wait in line, but he felt it again. Like two eyes were boring holes in the back of his head. TK turned sharply to see an old woman standing behind him with some prune juice.   
  
  
'Quit being paranoid. It's been two weeks, and nothing has happened. So nothing's going to happen. Geez. . .' TK thought to himself. He checked out his groceries, then began his trip home. At a distance, the same man who had followed TK inside watched him.   
  
  
"I'm going to get you this time. You're not going to rat on me." The man growled softly.   
  
  
Kari set some milk out on the stoop for her cat. A gust of wind blew, and Kari shivered outwardly. Suddenly a pair of strong arms grabbed her and dragged her away. Kari tried to protest and escape, but the person abducting her was very strong. He covered Kari's mouth with a white cloth, and Kari felt herself become unconscious.   
  
  
At TK's house, the doorbell rang, and TK went to get it. When he opened the door, he found Kari lying in a heap at the floor.   
  
  
"Oh my God, Kari! TK cried as he picked up the limp girl and carried her inside. Ms Takaishi walked out of her room after hearing her son cry out. She too cried out when she saw Kari lying on the couch, TK trying to wake her up.   
  
  
"Is she hurt?" Ms. Takaishi asked. TK shook his head, his blue eyes worried and frightened. In Kari's back pocket, TK found a letter. He ignored it until he got Kari to awaken. She opened her eyes partially, and then flailed her arms about wildly, trying to get away from TK and Ms. Takaishi. TK held her down and looked into her wild and scared eyes.   
  
  
"Kari! It's me, TK! You're okay now!" TK shouted. Kari recognized TK, then began to cry loudly.   
  
  
"I don't know what happened! I was giving the cat some milk. . .and he grabbed me! All I remember is him dragging me away from my house, and then. . . nothing." Kari exclaimed, terrified. TK hugged Kari to him, trying to console her. Kari buried her face into TK's shoulder. Ms. Takaishi picked up the note and opened it. She cried out with surprise and read it aloud.   
  
  
"See how close I can get to you?" she read. Kari began to sob louder, bringing her arms around TK's neck. TK held her close to him, afraid to let her go. Ms. Takaishi called Kari's mother and told her to come pick up her daughter at the house.   
  
  
"I would stay up with you two, but I am so tired. This flu is killing me. Goodnight kids." Ms. Takaishi said quietly as she walked back into her room. For a few moments, TK and Kari didn't talk, they simple held each other tightly. Finally Kari let go of TK and parted slightly from him.   
  
  
"This is getting really scary, TK. Why would he go after me?" Kari asked quietly.   
  
  
"I don't know, but I'm not going to let anyone get near you again. That's a promise." TK said determinedly. Kari smiled and looked into TK's soft blue eyes, losing herself for a moment in the comfort they brought her.   
  
  
"Kari. . .would you be angry with me if I kissed you?" TK asked. Kari shook her head, and the two teenagers came together in a soft, gentle kiss. For Kari, it brought back memories of good times she had spent with her ex boyfriend. TK had been missing Kari for so long, that kissing her was the one thing that had sounded right to him. They parted, both aching for breath.   
  
  
"So now what's going to happen?" Kari asked. TK looked into Kari's eyes seriously.   
  
  
"If you'll give me another chance, I'll be yours." TK whispered. Kari nodded, kissing TK's lips very softly.   
  
  
"Then I'm yours. I'm glad we're back together. I missed you, TK." Kari replied.   
  
  
"I missed you too." TK added. The doorbell rang, and TK answered it to find Tai and Mr. Kamiya on the other side. After explaining what happened, Mr. Kamiya and Tai took Kari home. TK closed the door and retired to his room.   
  
  
In a nearby apartment, the man laughed sinisterly. His plan was coming into effect quite nicely. The next part was going to be brilliant. Killing off a person would be the ideal thing to do. And after he killed that person, he would kill his ultimate prize.  
  
  
**Yikes! What's going to happen next? Read and review for more chapters, and believe me, if I get lots of reviews, the chapters will keep coming!** 


	5. Chapter Four

**Okay, here's another chapter to this fic! I've come to point where it would be stupid to quit writing it again, even though I haven't been getting very many reviews, so I am finishing it for sure. I don't know how many chapters this will have, and I don't want to make a guess. A lots going to happen in these next few parts, so don't be shocked!**  
  
  
Still Standing  
Chapter Four: Gone  
  
  
Almost a month. That's how long it had been since TK had found Kari, his ex-girlfriend, lying unconscious on his doorstep after she had been kidnapped by an unknown man. Since then, nothing at all had happened, which put the two young people on edge. TK was naturally afraid for his own life, but now that Kari was back in his life, he was terrified for her life as well. He didn't know if he could handle losing her. It would be too much to bear. The two of them stayed together as much as they could, never going anywhere at night without the other. Kari was as scared of TK's stalker as TK was, although she was more worried about him getting hurt someday by this psycho with no name. As the two of them walked to school one blustery day, they were unaware of a pair of eyes fixed on them.   
  
  
"Today's the day, TK. Get ready to be in the ultimate pain." The man whispered, his voice hoarse with excitement.   
  
  
Tai got out of bed and sighed. He touched Sora's shoulder, and she too stirred. Tai got out of bed and shucked his clothes before entering the shower. He heard Sora move around as she put on her bathrobe over her pajamas. Turning on the water, Tai cringed as a blast of ice cold shower water hit him.   
  
  
"Damn water. . . ." Tai muttered sleepily. Getting up in the morning was the hardest thing to do for Tai. He loved being in bed next to Sora every night. But college classes had to be attended, and Tai forced himself to get out of bed every morning. He was so thankful he didn't live in the dorms or at home. He and Sora held down the rent for their apartment pretty well for a couple of teenage college students. Finishing the shower, tai got out and dried off. He changed into some clothes and started to brush his teeth. He wiped the steam off the mirror and saw a reflection of a heavily bundled man behind him. Tai turned, toothbrush in hand, and dashed out of the bathroom, the man in pursuit.   
  
  
"Sora!" Tai yelled. He rounded the corner to the kitchen and saw Sora lying on the floor unconscious. He felt a sharp object pierce his flesh in the side, and cried out in pain. He turned to see the man holding a very bloody kitchen knife in his hand. He stabbed Tai roughly three more times in the chest, shoulder and stomach before running out of the apartment. Sora came to moments later. She had been cooking breakfast, and blacked out when someone put a white cloth in her face. She screamed when she saw Tai lying in his own blood on the floor beside her.   
  
  
"Oh God. . .Oh God. . ." Sora chanted as she picked up and dialed the phone. She sobbed into the receiver the address and how bad the stabbing had been.   
  
  
"He's been stabbed. . .I don't know. . . four or five times. . .there's blood everywhere! You have to get out here as fast as you can, he's bleeding so much!" Sora sobbed as she pressed a kitchen towel over Tai's stomach. Tai moaned weakly. Covered in her boyfriend's blood, Sora put a blanket over his chilled body as she waited on the paramedics to arrive.   
  
  
Kari and TK sat in Geometry class quietly as the teacher started babbling about proofs. The door opened, and the principal walked in, his face grim.   
  
  
"Miss Kamiya, Mr. Takaishi, I need to see you in my office." The principal instructed. TK and Kari looked at each other with confusion.   
  
  
"Is something wrong?" Kari asked shakily.  
  
  
"There's been an accident. I need you to come and speak to your mothers. They're here to take you to the hospital." The principal stated. Kari gasped and walked hastily with the principal to the office.   
  
  
"What happened?" TK asked Ms Takaishi when he walked into the office. Mrs. Kamiya was sobbing loudly, and Kari feared the worst.  
  
  
"It's Tai, isn't it?" Kari asked. Mrs. Kamiya nodded.   
  
  
"Someone broke into their apartment this morning and stabbed him. They don't think he's going to make it through the week." Ms Takaishi whispered. Kari fainted immediately into TK's arms as he stood in place, completely shocked.   
  
  
"This isn't going to end, is it mom? He's going to hurt everyone around me until I give up!" TK cried as the principal took Kari into the sick room.   
  
  
"I don't know. We have to pray right now though. For Tai. . ." Ms Takaishi said, her voice quavering. She reached over and hugged Mrs. Kamiya, who bawled openly into her shoulder. TK's blue eyes clouded over with rage.   
  
  
"I need to go to him. We all do. Let's go, I'll carry Kari." TK demanded. Mrs. Kamiya and Ms. Takaishi agreed and signed their children out of school, driving to the hospital quickly. When TK walked in, he saw Sora sitting alone, her hands still covered with Tai's blood, which was now dried to her hands. TK ran to Sora and picked her up out of the chair, hugging her tightly. Sora reluctantly hugged TK back.  
  
  
"There was so much blood, TK. . .it was everywhere." Sora whispered to the boy, her eyes wild with fear and sorrow.   
  
  
"It's okay. . . he's going to be okay. . .we need to get your hands clean now though, alright? Let's go into the bathroom and wash your hands." TK said, talking to Sora as you would a small child. Sora nodded slightly and followed TK to the bathroom, where he helped her wash all the dry blood from her hands and arms.   
  
  
"Thank you TK. . .I just. . .can't believe this is happening. They don't think he's going to live through this. One of his lungs was punctured, and his internal organs are in bad shape. Why is this happening to us?" Sora cried, breaking down completely into TK's arms. TK stroked Sora's soft hair gently, trying to comfort her.   
  
  
"We need to be there for him right now, Sora. I don't know why he's back, and I don't know why he's after you. But I won't let him do this to anyone else, do you hear me?" TK replied. Sora nodded and walked back to Tai's room with Sora. Kari and Mrs. Kamiya were already inside, and so was Ms Takaishi. TK opened the door and lead Sora inside the room where Tai lay sleeping.   
  
  
"Oh God." TK murmured. Tai was bandaged and hooked to machines which helped him breathe. An IV dripped fluids into his arm, and another line was dripping blood into his other arm. He was bruised, and cuts marred his face and arms. TK felt rage flow through him as Sora grabbed his hand and began to sob openly.   
  
  
"I can't take this anymore. No, I won't take this anymore. Call the police. It's time to stop pretending that this is just a little joke, because I know you're all doing that. This isn't a joke. His life is hanging by threads, and I won't let that happen to anyone else. I want this guy caught, and I think I know who he is." TK demanded. Kari nodded angrily, keeping her eyes on her brother's still form. Ms Takaishi dialed the police on her mobile phone, and in minutes they were in the room questioning TK, Kari and Sora.   
  
  
"And why do you think Richard Ishida has returned to kill you all?" a tall policeman with dirty blonde hair asked.   
  
  
"Because five years ago he murdered my brother, and fled the scene. The three of us and Tai were all there and witnessed the entire thing. He has a motive to murder us. He wants to be free of any blame for Matt's death." TK replied.   
  
  
"We'll send out a warrant. If Mr. Ishida is indeed in Odaiba, then we'll apprehend him and charge him with the assault of Mr. Kamiya, and the murder of Yamato Ishida." The policeman stated.   
  
  
"Oh don't forget a count of kidnapping, like I said earlier I was kidnapped by the same man only a month ago, then dropped at TK's house." Kari said angrily, holding TK's hand in hers. The police took all the information, leaving later.   
  
  
"I'm not going to let this happen anymore. . ." TK said as he watched Kari and Sora cry over Tai's sleeping form.  
  
  
**Yikes! What's going to happen next! You're going to have to send out some reviews, folks! Come on, I know you can do this! I have faith that you can send out a nice little commentary on this chapter! So what are you waiting for? REVIEW! Please??** 


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